Deadline extended for deal on old Smulekoff’s building

CEDAR RAPIDS - Local developer Steve Emerson and the city of Cedar Rapids have agreed to extend a deadline until Dec. 15 to reach an accord on the redevelopment of the former Smulekoff's Home Store building downtown.

The City Council approved a recommendation from the city's development staff to set aside the previous Sept. 8 deadline. The idea is to give the city, its consultants and the developer more time to resolve issues related to the riverfront building and how the city's flood control system will affect the property.

One unresolved matter is how much of the now-city-owned Smulekoff's property the city will retain for a pedestrian promenade and gathering area along the river as part of the city's flood control system, the city's development staff told the council this week.

Emerson said Friday he is ready to begin renovating the building once the issues are resolved and he takes ownership of the property. He said it should be open with new office and residential tenants next year.

In late May, the council chose Emerson's $15 million proposal to redevelop the five-story building over proposals from five other developers. Emerson won out, in part, because he said he had an out-of-town corporate tenant with more than 100 employees potentially positioned to move into the second and third floors of the building. Emerson has not named the corporation.

His plan has been to convert the fourth and fifth floors, built in 1904, into apartments and to use the first floor as an events center. The center would host everything from corporate training sessions to weddings. A newer one-story addition next door would provide indoor parking, Emerson has said.

The Smulekoff's building, at 97 Third Ave. SE, was the last of more than 1,300 properties the city bought through the federally funded, flood-recovery buyout.

The city took ownership at the end of last December. The buyout program paid $4.7 million for the property.

Emerson has agreed to pay current fair market value of the empty property, which will be considerably less that the buyout price paid for an established business. Money from an Emerson purchase will revert to the federal government.